BACKGROUND: The role of HLA-sensitization in the absence of detectable DSA in lung re-transplantation is unclear. Antigens of the second donor matching the HLA typing of the first donor are considered 'unacceptable', by some tissue typing laboratories, especially in kidney re-transplantation. METHODS: Thus, we performed a retrospective analysis of all lung re-transplantations focussing on the impact of HLA-homologies between the first and the second donor ('unacceptable' antigens; repeated HLA mismatch) on patient and graft survival...

BACKGROUND: Proteinuria is a hallmark of glomerular injury, and persistent proteinuria is associated with graft failure in kidney transplant patients. Recently, it is known that the level of circulating angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) is elevated in the patients with human nephrotic syndrome, in which ANGPTL4 is responsible for relieving proteinuria. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine effects of clinical factors and genetic polymorphism of ANGPTL4 on proteinuria after kidney transplantation...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of pre-transplant serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level on non-immunologic and immunologic aspects of post-transplant clinical outcomes in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). METHODS: We investigated 174 KTRs with low immunologic risk at baseline. We divided the patients into three groups according to baseline serum 25(OH)D level and compared the post-transplant clinical outcomes of acute rejection, infectious complications, and osteoporosis among the groups...

BACKGROUND: Lung transplant recipients have an increased susceptibility to a variety of infections due to immunosuppressive therapy. Current guidelines recommend pneumococcal and other vaccinations, prior to lung transplantation to protect against post-transplant infections, but measurement of the antibody response to vaccination is not advised. Immune status investigation in lung transplant candidates, including the response to pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination, has not been described...

The present study tried to explain CD56+ lymphocyte cells activities and possible prognostic role of these cells in Graft-Versus-Host-Disease (GVHD). The role of IL-12 activation and function is of interest in this study. Peripheral blood samples of 51 Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) recipients collected at before (day -8) and after (days 7 and 14). PBMC were collected by Ficoll separation and analyzed by Flow Cytometry using triple antibody (CD45-PerCP, CD56-FITC, and CD69-PE staining and control antibody...

The single most important cause of late mortality after lung transplantation is chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD). However, the pathological development of CLAD was not as simple as previously presumed and subclassification phenotypes, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) and restrictive CLAD (rCLAD), have been introduced. We want to re-investigate how CLAD manifests in the murine orthotopic lung transplant model and investigate the role of interleukin 17A (IL-17A) within this model. Orthotopic LTx was performed in CB57BL/6, IL-17 WT and IL-17 KO mice...

We present management strategies utilised for the first case of an urgent live-donor ABO incompatible B blood group renal transplant, in a patient with a prior A blood group lung transplant for cystic fibrosis. Three years on, renal function is excellent and stable, whilst lung function has improved.

BACKGROUND: Obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) is the major limiting factor for long-term survival after lung transplantation. As previously shown, donor treatment with a PHD-inhibitor activating hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIFs) prevents graft injury both in an allogenic kidney and aortic allograft transplant model. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of HIF activation with a PHD-inhibitor on the development of OB. METHODS: Fully MHC-mismatched C57BL/6 (H-2(b)) donor tracheas were orthotopically transplanted into CBA/J (H-2(k)) recipients...

The outcome of hyperacute grade 3-4 steroid-refractory graft-versus-host-disease (SR-GVHD) remains dismal despite a plethora of agents being tried alone or in combination. Following T replete haploidentical transplantation with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide on 75 patients, 10 patients (13%) aged 2-20years, developed hyperacute SR-GVHD. We report on the outcome of two different regimens for treatment of SR-GVHD on the outcome of these patients. Five patients were treated in Regimen A consisting of anti-thymocyte globulin, Etanercept and Basiliximab...

Primary hyperoxaluria is a genetic disorder in glyoxylate metabolism that leads to systemic overproduction of oxalate. Functional deficiency of alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase in this disease leads to recurrent nephrolithiasis, nephrocalcinosis, systemic oxalosis, and kidney failure. The aim of this study was to determine the molecular etiology of kidney transplant loss in a young Tunisian individual. We present a young man with end-stage renal disease who received a kidney allograft and experienced early graft failure...

Delayed T cell recovery and restricted T cell receptor (TCR) diversity after kidney transplantation are associated with increased risks of infection and malignancy. Technical challenges limit the faithful measurement of TCR diversity after kidney transplantation. In this study, we used a combination of multiplex-PCR, Illumina sequencing and IMGT/HighV-QUEST to directly assess millions of TCRs per individual before and at two time points after kidney transplantation (1days and 7days after transplantation) in a cohort of 10 patients compared to a normal control (NC) group (n=10)...

Lymphodepletive agents play important role in different clinical applications or experimental transplant studies. In order to facilitate preclinical pediatric transplant studies, we have developed the rabbit anti-pig thymocyte globulin (pATG) and studied its effects in neonatal swines. In vitro assays showed that pATG can bind to lymphocytes and neutrophils in a dose-dependent manner and lyse peripheral blood mononuclear cells by apoptosis and complement-dependent cytotoxicity. In vivo, pATG as a monotherapy was administered at different doses (2...

BACKGROUND: Recently, antibody mediated rejection (AMR) has been associated with a higher incidence of chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) and mortality after lung transplantation (LTx). We investigated markers related to AMR and matrix remodeling in CLAD, with special attention for its two phenotypes being bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) and restrictive CLAD (rCLAD). METHODS: Immunoglobulins (IgA, IgE, IgG1-IgG4, total IgG and IgM) and complement (C4d and C1q) were quantified in lung lavage samples at the moment of BOS (n=15) or RAS (n=16) diagnosis; and were compared to stable transplant patients who served as control (n=14)...

AIM: To identify the frequency of exposure to sensitizing factors and evaluate the risk ascribable to each sensitizing factor generating HLAabs measured by Luminex. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study that included 502 transplanted patients and 51 patients on the waiting list for a deceased donor graft. Patients were divided into 4 groups according to the %PRA: 0%, 1 to 19%, 20 to 49% and ≥50%. The OR attributable to each sensitizing factor or combination were calculated...

BACKGROUND: The Fischer-to-Lewis (LEW) rat model of kidney transplantation is a widely accepted and well-characterized model of chronic rejection. In contrast to transplantation in a clinical setting, however, the absence of treatment with immunosuppressants and only minor mismatch of major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs) are critical discrepancies. Here, we established a rat model of chronic rejection using fully MHC-mismatched strains in which kidney disease progresses even under immunosuppressive therapy...

It is well known that CTLA4Ig inhibits allogenic T-cell activation in transplantation. The immunological features and mechanisms associated with alloantibody suppression by CTLA4Ig, however, are poorly understood. Here, we used a mouse model of allosensitization to evaluate the efficacy of CTLA4Ig (abatacept) in suppression of donor-specific antibody (DSA) during de novo and recall alloantibody responses. We found that abatacept inhibited de novo DSA IgM and IgG responses to HLA-A2 expressing skin grafts. Abatacept administered during primary T cell priming also reduced recall IgG responses induced by re-immunization...